A blog about economics, finance, business and corporate governance. My background is in economics, with degrees from Columbia and Johns Hopkins. A career in international development, equity capital markets and as a corporate finance chief and board member lead me to think about events in a different way--hence the blog's name.

Friday, July 3, 2015

France Reappears To Support Greece?

From the very beginning of our posts on the Euro, dating back to 2011 we have talked about the fundamentally divergent interests of France and Germany. For a while, French President Sarkozy made a concerted effort to have arms outstretched for his partner, Chancellor Merkel. Since the next regime, things have become somewhat aloof, if not frosty.

We noted in a recent post, that French President Hollande was not visible as Chancellor Merkel was playing the despotic aunt, refusing to finance her profligate nephew, Greece. The Wall Street Journal reports that President Hollande is visibly counseling about the risks of continuing to play hardball with Greece and a consequent default and Grexit.

It comes down to the original conception of the European Union, which dates back to 1950-51 and initiatives championed by French foreign minister Robert Schuman, whose work we studied in our European economics seminar at the University of York, which I attended as an overseas student during my junior year of college. Here is a quote ascribed to Schuman,

"Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity."

Customs union, currency union, free movement of capital and labor, harmonization of regulation, abolition of non-tariff barriers, and the unspoken political union. It was a grand vision, to be sure, but more than half a century later, its defects and limitations continue to show.

Looking at the history and origins of the two world wars, one would be very hard pressed to make a case for the notion of 'solidarity' across national boundaries, when solidarity within those same boundaries is becoming more questionable.

Greece and its vaunted talent bank of American-trained economist/politicians have been irresponsible, but their actions are rational responses to the sometimes perverse incentives built into the whole currency union operations. If money and credit are being given away, why not take it?